Trump Media Inc. reports $16 million loss in quarter as revenue falls

Trump MediaFacebook, the social media company majority-owned by former President Donald Trump, reported a net loss of more than $16 million in the latest fiscal quarter on Friday, largely due to legal expenses, as well as consulting and licensing expenses.

Trump Media, which owns Truth Social, an app frequently used by the former president, reported that its already meager revenue fell 30% in the three months ending June 30, compared with the same period last year.

Trump Media Inc.’s stock, which trades under the ticker DJT, has fallen sharply from a high of more than $71 a share shortly after it began public trading in late March following a merger with a so-called special purpose acquisition company. Trump Media’s stock closed at $26.21 a share Friday afternoon, down 0.49%.

The company has a market cap of around $5 billion, which is very high considering its very modest sales.

in Filing Form 10-Q Trump Media reported a loss of $16.37 million for the quarter ended June 30 on Friday afternoon, compared to a loss of $22.8 million for the same quarter in 2023.

The company said about half of the loss in the past quarter was due to legal expenses related to Trump Media’s merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp.

“In addition, the company incurred $3.1 million in IT consulting and software licensing costs, primarily related to the software licensing agreement to operate the new streaming television service,” Trump Media said in a press release.

Revenue in the last quarter was just $839,000, compared to $1.2 million in the same quarter last year.

“A significant portion of the decrease was due to a change in revenue share with one of our advertising partners, in connection with an agreement intended to improve the Company’s financial position in the short term prior to the business combination,” Trump Media said in its 10-Q filing.

“Additionally, revenues varied as we selectively tested an emerging advertising initiative on the company’s Truth Social platform,” the company added.

Trump Media said it ended the quarter with $344 million in cash and cash equivalents, and no debt.

“The company believes its strong balance sheet will enable the expansion and enhancement of its new streaming television platform, Truth+, which launches in August 2024 on the company’s dedicated content delivery network (“CDN”),” Trump Media said in a statement. press release.

“With its strong balance sheet and no debt, the company believes it has sufficient working capital to fund operations for the foreseeable future,” the company said.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, are set to face Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz in the November election.